BBC's Celebration Kitchen Live celebrates Eid with live cookery show

To celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, BBC’s Celebration Kitchen Live is airing a live cookery show, showcasing some much-loved Eid favourites.

With the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Eid looks a little different than it has in previous years.

Usually a time to celebrate with family and friends, Muslims won’t be able to share food or spend time together as normal this holiday due to the restrictions placed on seeing family because of COVID-19.

The special show won’t just give people ideas on what to cook, it’ll also speak about how to celebrate Eid in more difficult times.

In a bid to bring Muslims together even though they can’t physically be together, hosts Matt Tebbutt and Adil Ray will join the likes of national treasure Mo Farah, comedian Nabil Abdulrashid and Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain to share their stories of Eid.

People around the country - Muslim or not - will benefit from the delicious specialities cooked up during the Eid festivities.

Chef Asma Khan will explain how to make two key dishes; a lamb raan and an Indian bread pudding.

The flavours of rose-flower water and cardamon are often present in Indian bread pudding and it’s cooked without eggs, meaning it’s not as creamy as the British equivalent. Instead, it’s usually topped with delicious custard sauce to give it a rich taste.

Chef Saliha Mahmood Ahmed will also teach Matt Tebbutt how to make a sweet potato chaat.

Giving everybody the opportunity to learn more about the type of food eaten during Eid, Nigel Slater and Rick Stein - among others - will look at how Eid delicacies differ around the world in a look through the recipe archives.

Speaking about the show, Matt Tebbutt said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to gather more of an insight on this amazing festival.”

“During these incredibly challenging times, it’s only natural that the BBC is bringing this very special Eid show to the nation. Eid is about thinking of others and spending time together.

“I hope, regardless of our faith or background, we can all enjoy the culinary delights of our wonderful chefs and welcome a great big dollop of Eid joy into our living rooms,” Adil Ray added.

The idea of the show is to bring people together in the absence of usual celebrations and Saliha Mahmood Ahmed said she’s “delighted” to be a part of it: “Eid is an amazingly spiritual, fun and family centred festival. To be able to share the food we eat with everyone in their homes is like celebrating with them. I just cannot wait!”

Speaking a little more about Eid and how it has been impacted by the coronavirus lockdown, Asma Khan said there is parallels between the resilience needed for both Ramadan and lockdown.

“Often Ramadan is seen as a month of fasting but I have always seen it as a test of your resilience and self-control. I find parallels with what we have all experienced with the lockdown, a time for resilience and faith that we will all come out of this safe; and the need to sacrifice our freedom to do as we please or eat when we want.

“Eid is a joyous feast. Beyond just the celebration of food with family, it is a celebration of having spent a month in prayer, introspection and fasting.”

The show will air live on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 24 May at 10:45am.